Insulation stripping applicator and methods of application



E. E. FOLKENROTH 2,774,130 INSULATION STRIPPING APPLICATOR AND METHODSOF APPLICATION Dec. 18, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27. 1955INVENTOR, 151/94 A T/ 5; Ira/veer.

M m/W ATTORN 6:

Dec. 18, 1956 FOLKENROTH 2,774,130

INSULATION STRIPPING APPLICATOR AND METHODS OF APPLICATION Filed April27. 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z2 x 3 -29 29 I. I I i 1 -1 LL 0 /4 INVENTOR 3a a I V M 62 5061 E 5LKNP0HV ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 18, 1956 E. E. FOLKENROTH 2,774,130

INSULATION STRIPPING APPLICATOR AND METHODS OF APPLICATION '5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 27, 1953 INVENILOR [11/94 E. 5/. A zA/eon/United States Patent INSULATION STRIPPING APPLICATOR AND METHODS OFAPPLICATION Earl E. Foikenroth, Harrisburg, Pa., assignor to Aircraft-Marine Products Inc., Harrisburg, Pa. 7

Application April 27, 1953, Serial Nassinss 15 Claims. c1. 29-335 Thisinvention is related to apparatus for applying electrical connectors toinsulated wire and comprises a novel combination of means for strippinga portion of the insulation from an insulated wire and forpressurecrimping connectors onto such wires.

Electrical connectors with wire-engaging ferrule portions have for sometime been applied to wires and conductors by compressing the ferruleportion and an insulation-stripped wire portion inserted therein betweencrimping dies which forge the assembly compactly together.

Automatic connector applying machines, such as disclosed and claimed inCarlson Patent No. 2,396,913, issued March 19, 1946, have been developedin many forms; they utilize continuous strips ofconnector-forrning'portions by severing portions from the strip and crimping them asconnectors or terminals onto wires at rates measured in hundreds, oreven thousands, of connections per hour.

There have been various production line arrangements of machines forpressure-applying connectors and machines which cut measured lengths ofinsulated wire from a reel and prepared the ends of the cut lengths forinsertion into the connector-applying machines; there have been other,more complicated machines in which insulated wires were hated andconnectors thereafter applied at the bared portions. All of these werecomplex, costly, and limited in application. Stranded wire conductorsare in common use and demand; in the machines of the prior art it hashappened too frequently that between the V Stripping operation and theconnector applying operation a strand or two would be unintentionallybent or dislodged from parallelism with the main bundle of strippedstrands with the result that the bent or dislodged strands would not becaught and crimped inside the connector barrel or ferrule. This gave twomain sources of trouble: (1) the cn'mped connection would not be up tofull strength or quality because of less metal inthe crimped crosssection than the-dies had been adjusted to close upon and (2) the strandor two not caught in the crimp could cause short circuits and arcingwhen theequipment went into use. My invention provides a commerciallyfeasible automatic machine having insulation-stripping means thatoperate automatically and substantially simultaneously with a connectorcrimping operation so as to overcome the disadvantages inherent in theprior art.

An object of this invention is to'provide simple, compact, andinexpensive apparatus for pressure-crimping electrical connectors ontoinsulated wire which obviates the preliminary operation :of strippingaway' a portion of the insulation, and/or the use of elaborateinsulationstripping apparatus. 1 accomplish this object by providing anovel combination of insulation-stripping means and connector crimpingdies such that an insulated wire inserted into the apparatus isautomatically and almost simultaneously bared of insulation and thebared portion positioned in or operably near the wire-engaging portion2,774,130 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 of a connector and then promptlycrimped therein to form a secure connection. Other objects consist ofproviding means to perform these steps which is adapted to use in astandard press means of ordinary power and which further may becompletely operated by a single operating cycle of such press means.Another object is to provide apparatus which meets all of the aboveObjects and which further is readily adaptable to different press means,different types and sizes of wire, and diiferent electrical connectors.Another object is to accomplish all of the above objects in a fashion.which cooperates with the automatic connector feeding .and severingmeans in automatic connector-applying machines. A major objectiveresides inthe provision of a commercially feasible single-cyclestripper-cn'mper assembly containing a readily accessible wire gatheringregion and which will automatically and substantially instantaneouslycarryout a stripping and connector-applying operation whenever a wire isthrust into the wire gathering region. 'Yet other objects and noveladvan-' tages will be in part pointed out as the description proceedsand in part will become apparent therefrom.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings I have shown anddescribed a'preferred embodiment of my invention and suggested-variousmodifications thereof; but it is to be understood that these are notintended to be exhaustive nor limiting ofthe invention but, on thecontrary, are given for purposes of illustration in order that othersskilled in the artmayfully' understand the invention and the principlesthereof and the manner cator mounted in a preferred press means,adjacent parts I of the press means; beingshown' and other parts beingbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of theapplicator and press means asthey are shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a back elevational view taken as indicated at 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken as indicated at 44 in Fig. 2; j

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken as .indicated at 55 in Fig.1; l i

Fig. 6 is an enlarged expanded isometric view of my novel wire strippingmeans with other portions of the applicator omitted for clarity; L

Fig; 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale,taken at the line.77 of Fig. 1;

'Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 7 but showing the parts as they wouldappearat the bottom dwell of a "crimping cycle of the press means;

Fig. 9 shows in side elevation a portion of a strip of connectors usedin the-applicator; and

Fig. 10 shows a wire after insertion into the tgire gathering region ofthe machine with a connector'applied toits stripped end' These drawingsillustrate different aspects of. a preferred form of my novelapplicatoran assembly which, driven by adequate press means, applies aconnector to an insulated wire after first stripping the insulation fromthe wire to give a consistently high quality, low-unit-cost connection.The applicator shown was adaptedto use on ewa tromthe crimping-area; I:

a standard series of commercially available automatic connector applyingmachines. These machines are powered by a compressed air cylinden'havereadily interchangeable cn'mping dies, and a readily adjustablemechanisni for feeding a strip o'f con'neetors into the applicator;further disclosure of typical presses may be obtained by reference 'tothe cop'ending applications of. Harold Ej Cootes, Serial'No. 65,645 andGeorge J. Handel, Jr., SerialNo. 65,646fboth filed'December' 16; 1948.17

'The accompanying drawings include a showing of ad jacent' parts of theair press means disclosed in these ap "lower die illustratively consistsof an anvil 18 having a crimping surface 20 which cooperateswiththecrimping surfaceZZonthe upper die or'crirnper 24; The crimper';24 shown is of that type having a deep channel-like'cavity.

, whose side walls 'ZJare adapted to slide frictionally.alongplications, and Fig. 2 shows thefeed finger'112 and drag V plate144 of the connector strip'feed mechanism on these 7 machines. "l

The strips of connectors used in these and other auto-V matic machinesgenerally consistof individual connectors formed from a'contin'uousstrip of sheet r'netais'tock' commonly with sma'll' joining portions ofthe stock left to hold the connectors together. In machines such asexemplified by Carlson Patent No. 2,396,913, the strip is fed the stripin the crimping area of the machine, between a .pair of opposed crimpingdies, whereupon the end connector issevered from thestrip andc rim'pedonto" a wire." This automatic feeding, severing and crimpin'g of the 7connectors permits the operator merelyto insert a wire a intoaconnection-formingregion thus to start the power stroke of the machine;]Where the connectors have 'chantubular ferrules, the die means andferrules portions may 1 intermittently tolocate repeatedly the endconnector'of gether, as is shown'in Fig. 8.;

the upturned side walls jof the channel-like' ferrule- 'forming portion'16 of the end connector Klhiand, with the crimping surface 22, to curlthese side walls 39 over to gather'fa wire end, such as ,that ofthe'representative wire 32, in the ferrule channel, as'the crimper24"moves down over the anvil 18. The final'movement of thedownwardstroke of the ram 46 then presses the connector side walls 3fi'and the enclosedwire end compactly to-' n; Figs.r2, 7 and 8 there isshown'spaced behind the-Y crimper 24 a shear blade 34 which cooperateswith shear edges on thefeed table 29 at thetop of plates 36 and 38'mounted on the bed 62 to cut awayfthe joining portion 15 (Fig 5) betweenthe end connector 14av and the adjacent connector in the strip; thussevering the end connector 14h from the strip asthe rarn'46 movesdownwardly and crimper 24 crimp'si'the 'connector ferrule 1i nel-likeferrule forming portionsfrather than completed;

be adapted so :to cooperatethaEthesides'of the lfer'rule channel scrapethe sides' of a Icrimping-die'having sea V net-like cavity togather intothe ferrule a'wireend merely placed betweenitSand -this die cavity.Thisfcooperation' is morelfully disclosed Macy-Patents Nos. 2,557,126

The applicator shown in the drawin gs 'is adapted for V usewitha:strip"12 of connectors l t-having channel-like ferruleforming portions=16; use of other connector wireengagingv portions Vwill' readily occurto" those'skilled in" Figs. 1 through sishow a machinepress means whichincludes a rugged casting 26 in which a ram fi-is constrained to'vertical movement by guide .faces 48and 50 (seen Fig 2 of the casting 26and anend plate 52. VA

' jacent ,connector withoutlthe removal 'of a joining portion 40 andawirefstripper assembly indicated generally"at? 42' (Figs; I and 12), the"wire'ielanip, bein'gifa'rr'ang'ed" to. grip and pull'fo'rward a wire32'i' portion onto a wire. Shearing" bypressiinga i'end offth e'ndconnectordownwardly away fromthe'supported ad 5 3 also be used,permitting riiore'lecono'mical useof: a strip sheetpmetall st0cfk,iasintheisftripshown in figure Mygpreferred torm of wre nigpin mechanismconsists of a wire clar'nping" assembly indicated generally erted througliit} The f l V 1 gripping and pulling acer asitheram, Qde'scendsQjaS WiH;a r W be described in greater detail, to accomplish thestripping. TThewire clamping assembly 40 consists of'a wire clamp pivot block 44which is mounted by recessed bolts :54 to the ram 46, which boltsalso'clan p'the crimper 24and the'shear blade 34iinrpla'ce on'the ram46. A wireecl'amp' V a I pedestal on;the casting 26 forms a support" foran ad-' 'justahle, bed 62-. iupon which the lower parts of the appli- Vcator assembly are mounteds In this preferred form of press means theparts normally occupy the relativepositions' shown in Figs-,li and '2when the ram 46 is, at the 7 top of its stroke: Part snot shown, an'aircylinder, bell V crank, and toggle lirikidriv'e the ram 46ldownwardly toV wardthebed 62 when theeopleratonaetuates the machine.

Also as the ram-46 moves downwardly, strip-feed finger 'll2 ii(Fig. i2l);is-p withdrawn to thei right to engage the connector adjacent the endconnector l igz currently being 7 'crimped.f Parts"noe shown-spring biastheifeed finger 112'downwardly and forwardly (to thel'ettin'Fi'g. 2),and f causevthis finger'ln to-droplhehind this next-connector and' t oindex the 511113 121 forwards-one connector length when the w rarn'; 461ascends after ,acrimping operation,- placing the next V connectoriinposition, to'be' crimped.

Thelwithdrawal of the feed i ing er IlZisaccomplished by V a eanisurfaceon theram @46-which 'drivesa push rod} 1 fand. thus the feednie'chanis'min the withdrawal movement. 1 A .drag plate" 144-(-Fig.f2);;is ;Springloaded downwardly upon'the strip 12; preventing it frorn' sliglingjbackcient forjthe, present application.

' pins 57 which ridefin earn 5101 55255111 lft fa'nd 'right side L V acams-70 and 72frespectivelyg mounted on the press bed 7 holder 56 has alaterallytransverse'guideway 58, in which" two wire'clamp'jaws 64fand661 are disposed; and is bifurq cated 'into a clevis having two arms 68which jfit'over" theiends of pivot block 44am are pivotally held thereonby pivot pin 45. Extending laterally .outwardl from each 7,

side of wire clampjholder 516 at its lower endare follower V V lowerscomprise outer itlat j suffaces fil d' posedhetwee The strip 12 is fl oheld 7 V V assembly- 40' is' drivenfdownwardlj; the foIlower pins T j5 aguiding the clamp jaws 64and6 away from thecrirnping' dies Z4 and ls'while' cam sur faces w drivetheelamp jaws 5 V downwardly With the ramA5;mounted 'o'nia support block 73-which in turii'is' mounted 'onthe lbed62,:whilethe' support block fi for the left sid cam-:is" also aholderl'for; the anVil -IS.i 5 I and;;pull it Figs; land 6f show h owascen jawsf64: a some; i their outer ends; formed 'into carhjffoliowersrlead facesrfi5 which slopejriwardly atarigle'spf about 4-5 The fla tsurfacesf63 aridlleadfaces*nieet; at an angleiof about 3'5? tror nthehorizontal-L- and 12; ry V posed to engage-leadiaces 6S sass The wirecla ps 64 and'66fhaveopposed;wire g surfaces5 9fa r i fl61;fThesesurfacesi are ads to j V V reinserted etherebetween fh'wrreclamp a -spring?! jaws andei jlj; are urgeddaterally apart-v bydisposed between riejce ssedareas in the adjacent t-acesfof; r r 7 thesejaws. As thera'm 46 descends,-the;entire wire 'clarnp 1 a 64 and 66laterally together to grip a wire 32 inserted between them.

The wire-stripper assembly 42 includes a wire stripper guide block 76mounted on the upper surface of the bed 62, left and right wire stripperblades 78 and 80 slidably disposed in a stripper blade guideway 82 inthe guide block 76, left and right stripper blade rocker arms 84pivotally mounted to the guide block at 86, two follower rollers 88 onpivot pins 96 at the upper ends of rocker arms 84, and two stripperblade drive pins 92 extending from the lower end of arms 84 throughshort vertical slots 93 in blades 78 and 80. The rollers 88 and theupper portions of arms 84 are urged together by a spring 91 between thepivots 90 of the two rollers 38, thus urging apart the two drive pins 92and stripper blades 78 and 80. The rollers 88 are thus abutted againstthe lower corners of the ram 46 (see Figs. 3 and 4) when the ram is atrest; spring 91 pulls the rollers partly around the corners and spacesthem apart slightly less than the width of the ram 46 so that thedescent of the ram causes the two rollers 88 to move laterally apart asthe ram 46 passes between them; therollers 88' ride on the lateral facesof the ram 46 as it completes its descent. The rocker arms are therebyrotated about pivots 86 and the stripper blades 78 and 80 are driventogether by drive pins 92.

The stripper blades 73 and 86) have semicircular conical insulationcutting and stripping edges 77 (Figs. 5 and 6) and mating a'ngularlydisposed wire guiding surfaces 79. These wire guiding surfaces '79 arearranged so that those on each blade overlap those of the other blade.When the blades 78 and 80 are closed to their wire stripping position bythe descent of the ram 46 the surfaces 79 guide the wire to be strippedinto the desired position for proper stripping. The angular guidingsurfaces 79 center each wire between the insulation cutting andstripping surfaces 77 as the blades 78 and 80 are closed and minimizeany likelihood that a strand of the metal conductor may be nicked orunintentionally removed during the stripping operation.

In many commercial applications it is desirable that the electricalconnections be of a quality higher than would be apt to result whereeven a single fine strand of the conductor had been removed during thestripping operation. This is because the crimping dies are designed tofunction, and do function, to extremely fine tolerances and where astrand has been removed from the conductor in the region of the crimpthere is less metal present in the crimped region than the crimpingassembly was adjusted for and accordingly a correspondingly inferiorcrimp results. Where quality connections are desired a metal-sensingunit may be employed in combination with the stripper. Such a unit mayoperate on capacitance or magnetic flux principles whereby the presenceof a strand of copper, for example, in the removal insulation sheath inpassing through a region within the sensitivity of the unit willunbalance a circuit to stop the machine or give a visible or audiblesignal to an attendant indicating that the' conductor in the machine nolonger has the proper cross section of conductive metal in the region ofthe'crimp.

By stripping and crimping in a single operationI eliminate any chancethat a strand from a stripped end may be bent and of parallelism withthe main bundle of strands to a position where it may miss the'ferruleportion or barrel of a later-applied connector or terminal; accidentalbending back of a strand or two is bad not only because the optimumcn'mped connection cannot result but also because a loose strand or twoprojecting from the insulation sheath at the mouth of the terminal maycause serious electrical disturbances through short circuits, arcing,etc., later on when the equipment is in use; this dif iculty I overcomeby my combined stripping and crimping operation which eliminates allopportunity for any strand to be unintentionally bent from parallelismwith every other strand of the bundle. By combining a metal-sensing unitarranged to detect every piece of removed insulation which includes anyof the electrical conductor I eliminate any chance of a low qualitycrimp because less than the total number of strands have been left bythe stripper.

In the rest (upper) position of the ram, the elements are as shown inFigs. 1 through 7 and feed finger 112 has been pulled forward to locateproperly the end connector 14a over the anvil 18 as described above. Thewire clamp jaws 64 and 66 are open and the stripper blades 78 and arebeing urged apart by springs 67 and 91 respectively. The crimper 24 isso elevated that an insulated wire may be inserted between the grippingsurfaces 59 and 61 of the wire clamp jaws 64 and 66 through thechannel-like cavity. of the crimper and between the wire stripper blades78 and 80. A wire stop 94 is advantageously disposed behind the stripperblades 78 and 80 at a distance from their cutting edges 77 equal to thelength of bare wire needed for a particular connection. With theinserted insulated wire 32 abutted against this stop a cycle of thepress is started and the ram 46 begins todescend. Preferably this stopwill be not shown on the drawing in order to simplify the show-- ing,but is mounted and related to the other parts shown in thesame way as isnow ordinary in such sensitive switch controls in automatic machinery.

Theinitial descent of the ram 46 drives rollers 88 laterally outward andthus drives the insulation cutting edges 77 of the stripper ;blades 78and 80 through the insulation sheath 33 of the wire 32 as shownin Fig. 7and maintains these edges 77 abutted together and slidably abuttedagainst the conductive wire core as rollers 88 roll on the descendingram' 46. The wire clamp holder 56 is driven down by the ram 46. andguided longitudinally outwardly by follower pins 57 in cam slots 55, theinitial descent also driving cam followers 63 and 65 of the wire clampjaws 64 and 66 past the cam surfaces 71' of side earns 70 and 72,closing the jaws 64 and 66 to grip the wire 32 between their surfaces 59and 61. Thus the wire 32 is gripped and pulled away from and out of thestripper'blades 78 and 80, leaving the thus severed end portion of thewire insulation 33 behind the stripper blades and bringing forward aWire 32 with a baredend portion. This operation necessarily leaves everystrand in parallelism in a compact bundle ready to be embraced as a unitby the ferrule or barrel of a connector. Meanwhile, the crimper 24 isalso being driven toward'the anvil'18 as the wire 32 is being drawnthrough the crimping cavity side walls 28. V

The gripped wire 32 is pulled forward by the cam surfaces 55 until itclears the stripper assembly, at'which point the cam followers 57 areapproximately at the bend in surfaces 55.

Further downward movement of the ram 46 causes wire clamp holder 56 tocenter the stripped end of the wire in' the terminal 14a. The side walls28 of the crimper cavity are scraped by the side walls 30a of the endconnector 14a .uponfurther descent'of the ram and the .ferrule portion.formed'by these side walls curls around the bared bundle of strands ofthe conductor.

The final travel, or bottoming, of the ram 46 compresses the partstogetherto form a secure connection as shown in Figs. 8 and 10.

As the ram rises, the wire with its newly attached 5 of the connectorstrip 12 are 7' t pushed away from the strip by shear blade 34 incooperation with shear plate 36 and slug plate 38 during the crimpingoperation and are ejected through an opening 95 in bed 62 The strippedportions of 'wire'insulation fall through the opening 96in guide block76 and may ultimately be blown out of the applicator by such means as'anair jet (not: shown) timed to release a blast of air after'themetal-sensing: if any, and as the ram ascends. Insuch-a fashion asthisth'e applicator is kept clearofwaste. From theforegoin'g it willbelseen that wire stripping and crimping means made in accordance withthe present invention is well adapted to'attain the ends andobjectshereinbefore set forth and to bef'economically' manu factured sincetheyare suitable for common production methods and are susceptible to awide latitude of variations as may be desirable in adapting theinvention'to different applications. a i V As various embodiments may bemade of the above invention and as changes might be made in theembodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matterhereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted. as illustrative and not in alirniting sense. I

I claim: t V l. Amachine for applying connectors to thefend of aninsulated wire comprising wire insulation stripping'rneans and connectorcrimping mean's both disposed closely adjaeent int-a singleoperatingzone, operating 'ram means 7 positioned to engage the crimpingmeans andactuate it:

'to crimpja connector positioned therein, means engaging 1 sa d ramwith' said stripping means during a positive stroke of'sard rambefore'the dies are driven into crimp} ingen'gagement with'aconnectorQmeans to'feed a con- -nector'1nto;posit1on for crimping bysaid crimping means, mean to move a wire from thestripping'position tothe crimping position and insert its stripped endinto a -connectordisposed in said crimping means," means actuatedby said ram cooperatesaid wire moving means during the same operating strolr'e of the rammeans, but

7 eafter' 'the wirestripping means has been operated and, t prior to thecrimping of said connector. i a I 2; ln a machine for automaticallyapplying an electrical connector onto the end of an insulated wire meansfor substantially simultaneously stripping the .insula'tionfrom a'baseand ram structure having vi'nou 'itecl thereonwire insulation strippingmeans and connector crimping die means; operative means between saidstripping and crimp ing means for operating said stripping meansbeforethe 'ling eachidownwar'd stroke offsaidram structure p "3. In a.machine for automatically crimpingv arf elsetrical connect'or .onto' theend ofla'n insulated wire the nema 8 sulated' wire, comprisingpress'm'eans; upper and lower" crimping dies adapted to be driventogether to a crimping position and retracted to a rest positionby saidpress means;- stripping means to at least-partially sever the insulationsheath'of an'insulated wire inserted therein at a connector-acceptingdistance from the end of the wire and to remove the severed end portionof insulation when the remainder of the wire is pulled therefromgi t.clamp'm'eans to grip the wire, pull it away from said.

stripping means, and'p'lace the stripped end of the wire' in aconnectorbetwe'en said crimping dies prior to the crimping actionthereof, and to release said wire afterthe crimping'action of saidcrimping dies; and operating means for se'quentially actuating saidstripping means,;

- clamp means and'criinping dies byone operating cycle of said pressmeans. 7 r

t 5. Apparatus for applying. electrical connectors to in sulated' wirecomprising press means, upperrand loweri crimping Idies adapted to bedriven together to a crimping position and retracted to a rest positionb yisaid press.

means; stripping means to at least partially 'sever, the insulationsheath of 'an insulatedtwire inserted therethrough ataconnector-accepting distanee from the end 7 of the Wire and to retainthe severed endportionof insulationagai nst a tensile pull on theremainder of'the wire, clamprneans to grip the wire, pull itawayfrom'said stripping means, and place the stripped end of the wire 7in a connector between said crimping dies prior to thecrimping actionthereof, and to releasethe wire v after the crimping action of saidcrimping dies, and connector:

6. Apparatus for applying electrical eonnectors to ine; ts ulated wirescomprising press means, a pair ofconnector-crimpingdies positioned to'beoperably driven by said I press means, a wire stripper havingwire-insulation cutting blades, a wire clamp having-wire-gripping jaws,said wire' clamp, said wire stripperand said dies being positioned thewire and crimping 'a connector thereon comprising f combination etasingle operatin'g'zoneladaptdtoreceive therein the endofawire; a stripfeeding means fortfeeding a stripbf connectors, oneiconnector length'ata-Itirne,

. into said gone; ram means positioned within said zoner,

for actuation in that order by said pressmeains, whereby said wire is,gripped by the clamp, titstinsulation': sheath a i *is cut by thestripper blades, the remainder. of tth'e Wire is. drawn by said wireclamp to remove said cut insula tion and to locate its stripped'end in aconnector positioned I between said crimping dies and the dies :are:forced to-' gether for the crimping operation, and means to release a Vsaid'wire clamp on the return stroke of said press mea'nsQ i7.'fApparatus for applyingjelectricalconnectors to ini sulated wirecomprisingfthe combinationgof a frame,

upper. and lower crimping diesmountedon said a frame;

at leastjo'ne"beingmovablet-withrespect to thedtlier, wirefc'lamp meanmounted in said'apparatus to one sidef of said dies, and a wire strippermounted in said appara- V tus en the opposite side of said 'di'es fromsaid jclarnp,

, saidclamp and said wire stripperieach havingat least crimping dics'operatively associated withtsaidrram-means t'o crimp the eridcorine'ct'or' ofsaid stripj wire insulation stripping means positionedin said zone in operative relation with said'ram means so as to beactuated priorlto said crimping-dies in each cycle of operation; andwire 7 guidingmeans positioned withinsaidt Zone in operative relationwith said ram means to movesaid wire fromfsaid wire strippingineans intothe ferrul elof theend'connector {of a connector andcompactedt'ther'ewith" a substan-r' tially solid mass n in the samestroke; I r

4. Apparatus for. applying electrical connectors toiintwo 'nirefengaging members atleastone fofwhich ismov a'ble toward the'otherto' a wire-engaging positionand r t awaytherefrom; to an open;positiomfmeans-associated -withjmovable'onevofzsaid dies to 'actuatesaid'clainp and 7 said wire-stripper to. their respectivewire-engaginglposi f; 1 'itions just before one die 'closesEwith theother andgto open said wire engaging members when saidt 'dies areseparated, and carn means associated with'said dies to r move said wireclamp means away fromtsaid wire stripper after both are in wireiengaging positionbut before said dies are fullylclosed together,and'reciprocating a means driving said dies'and said connectedpartsLofsaid strip upon actuation of said machine whereby'an 8} Apparatus forapplyingelectrical connectors to in sulated'wire comprising press meanshairinguppeiand lower die holders at least one of fwhich is reciprocablebetween a pressure applying position andarestpositionfupper'andlowercrimpingjdies mounted on :Sflidinpp'er and loweridievholdersfrespectivelyyia' wire clamping gs a sembly, a wire strippingassembly, and a wire stop disposed between said upper and lowerdieholders and adjacent said wire stripping-assembly; said wire clampingassembly having wire-gripping members forming a Wire-receiving aperturetherebetween and said wire stripping assembly havinginsulation-stripping blades forming a wire-receiving aperturetherebetween, said wire-gripping members and said insulation-strippingblades being movable between closed, wire-engaging position and openwire-releasing position; motion transmitting means between at least oneof said die holders and said wire clamping and wire stripping assembliesto cause said wire-gripping members and said insulation-stripping bladesto close on'and operably engage an insulated wire inserted through saidwire-receiving apertures when said reciprocable die holder is moved toits pressureapplying position, and further motion transmitting meansdriven by at least one of said die holders to cause said wire clampingand wire-stripping assemblies to be moved farther apart relative to eachother when said reciprocable die holder is moved to itspressure-applying position.

9. Apparatus for applying electrical connectors to insulated wirecomprising the combination of upper and lower die holders having upperand lower crimping dies mounted respectively thereon; at least one ofsaid die holders being movable with respect to the other enabling thedies to be driven together to a crimping position and retracted to arest position, said dies having crimping surfaces which may thus beclosed to a crimping position and retracted to leave a longitudinallydirected aperture therebetween for receiving a wire and a connector; awire stripper mounted on one of said die holders and having insulationstripping blades which are adapted to be closed to a wire-strippingposition and opened to a rest position in which a wire-receivingaperture is left therebetween; a wire clamping assembly spaced from saidstripper on the opposite side of said dies, said clamping assemblyhaving wire gripping members which are adapted to be closed to awire-gripping position and opened to a rest position in which awire-receiving aperture is left therebetween; the wire-receivingapertures of said wire clamping assembly and wire stripper beinglongitudinally aligned with said die crimping surfaces in the restposition; means movably mounting said wire gripper in said apparatuswith its wire-gripping members movable toward and away from saidcrimping dies longitudinally of said wire; cam means associated with Oneof said die holders and cam follower means on said wire clampingassembly to close said clamping assembly to wire-gripping position andto move said assembly away from said dies when said die holders aremoved together to said crimping position; and second cam means mountedon the other of saidtdie holders and cam follower means connected tosaid wire stripping blades to close said blades to their wire strippingposition when said die holders are moved toward their crimping position.

10. Apparatus for applying electrical connectors to insulated wirecomprising the combination of press means; upper and lower die holdersmounted on said press means, said die holders having upper and lowercrimping dies mounted respectively thereon; at least one of said dieholders being movable with respect to the other of said die holdersenabling the dies to be driven together to a crimping position andretracted to a rest position by said press means, said dies havingcrimping surfaces which may thus be closed to a crimping position andretracted to leave a longitudinally directed wire andconnector-receiving aperture therebetween; a wire stripper mounted onone of said die holders and disposed longitudinally to one side of saiddies, said wire stripper having stripping blades which are adapted to beclosed to a wire-stripping position and opened to a rest position inwhich a wire-receiving aperture is left therebetween; a

wire clamping assembly disposed longitudinally away from said stripperon the opposite side of said dies, said clamping assembly having wiregripping members which are adapted to be closed to a wire-grippingposition and opened to a rest position in which a wire-receivingaperture is left therebetween; a wire stop disposed longitudinallybeyond said wire-receiving aperture; the wire-receiving apertures ofsaid wire clamping assembly and wire stripper in the rest position beingarranged along a common line of insertion for the wire; said wireclamping assembly being movable vertically toward said lower dieholderand laterally away from said dies; cam means mounted on one ofsaid die holders and cam follower means mounted on said wire clampingassembly engaging said cam means to move said wire gripping members thuslaterally away from said dies when said die holders are moved towardsaid crimping position; means on said upper die holder connecting it tosaid wire clamp to move it with said die holders toward said crimpingposition; second cam means and follower, one associated with saidwire-gripping members and one with the die holders to close them towire-gripping position when said die holders are moved to said crimpingposition; third cam means operatively associated with one of said dieholders; follower means, operatively linked to said stripping blades toclose said blades to their wire-stripping position when said die holdersare moved together to said crimping position.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 which further comprises connectorfeeding means to place an electrical connector in position to be crimpedonto a wire by said crimping dies during the cycle of operation of saidpress means.

12. In a machine for applying electrical connectors to the ends ofinsulated wires, the combination comprising a base plate portion, a ramstructure mounted to move to and from a position adjacent said baseplate portion, a pair of crimping dies mounted on said base plateportion and ram structure to crimp a connector and wire placedtherebetween when said ram structure is brought 7 to its positionadjacent said base plate portion, a pair of wire insulation strippingblades mounted on said base plate portion and each carrying thereon acam follower roll adapted to engage said movably mounted ram structureto move said blades to and from an insulation severing position, a pairof wire gripping blocks mounted in a yoke on said ram structure on theopposite side of said dies from said insulation stripping blades, saidblocks, dies and insulation stripping blades being longitudinallyaligned to form a wire end receiving cavity, a pair of cam surfacesmounted on said base plate portion, a corresponding pair of cam followerrolls mounted on said yoke and adapted to engage said cam slots, a pairof cam surfaces mounted on said base plates to engage the ends of saidWire gripping blocks mounted in said yoke, said wire gripping blocksbeing forced together by said cam surfaces and moved longitudinally awayfrom said wire stripping blades by said cam slots when said ramstructure is moved downwardly adjacent said base plate whereby the endof a wire inserted in said wire-receiving cavity has the endportions'thereof stripped of insulation and placed between said diesduring a single downward operating stroke of said ram structure.

13. A machine for applying electrical connectors as described in claim12 including a substantially endless strip of connector blanks mountedon said frame structure and strip feeding means for positioning saidconnector blanks one at a time between said dies whereby a connectorblank is formed into a connector about the stripped end of a wireinserted in said wire receiving thereof a plurality of angularlydisplaced faces adapted to interfit' with corresponding faces 011.1118other blade portions, ,said faces. being oriented radially withrespectto said cutting edge, thefa'ces of each blade portion bein'gfdisposed at'an obtuse angle diverging in opposite directions f a 1 r 15,In a machine for automatically. applying an electrical connector ontothe end of an' insulated Wire, means for substantially simultaneouslystripping the insulation from the Wire andcrimping a connector thereonin a: single operating Z0116 including a press means having mountedthereon Wire insulation'stripping means and connector crimping die meansoperatiyemeans between said stripping and crimping'means for operatingsaid stripping means before the crimping means is actuated in each cycleofopera tion; and means'opera'tive in timed relationship in -said press'means' before actuation of said crimping means to shift'a Wire;relatively out of said stripping means and into a connector positionedhetween 5? said die means for crimping in said cycle of operationngReferences Cited inthe file of; this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS:

Macy I an. "17, "1 956 f

